With a loud thud, Brian knocked the host’s microphone right out of his hands. “Shut up!”

    54%

    “Mr. Atkinson!” Jackson watched the microphone hit the floor and his voice cracked with panic. He kept shooting desperate looks at Brian, trying to remind him that the cameras were still rolling.

    Millions of viewers were watching this whole thing go down live. This was not the time to lose it.

    But Brian was too furious to care. He kept pointing at the host, who had gonepletely pale with fear, andunched into a

    warning.

    “Who told you to ask those questions? Do you have any professional ethics left? People like you who only care about chasing clicks and views have no business being in this industry!”

    He turned to Jackson. “Get him reced immediately. And I don’t want to see him hosting any events ever again.”

    His ice-cold voice carried absolute finality. Brian was cklisting the host right there on the spot.

    The hostpletely panicked and immediately started apologizing to Brian, “Mr. Atkinson, please let me exin! I wasn’t trying to

    Brian just nodded toward the backstage area, and security immediately came up to escort the frantic host off the stage.

    After handling that mess, Brian adjusted his earpiece and turned to face the nearest camera. He looked directly into the lens and

    made his statement.

    “Some people might not have understood this before, so let me make it crystal clear right now,” Brian spoke coldly. “Atkinson Group will never use family marketing for any of our products. My wife and children will absolutely never be used as marketing tools.”

    “Wow, that’s pretty romantic,” Wesley said.

    At the restaurant, Wesley had struck out with Sana and ended up taking Jessica to dinner instead. He happened to catch the live interview on the restaurant’s TV screen.

    Jessica was watching too, staring at Brian on screen as he spoke fearlessly and made his bold statements. Her feelings were all over the ce. “Being that aggressive is going to cause problems,” she murmured, looking down.

    “Really? Because it looks like everyone online is totally shipping you two,” Wesley said, pulling out his phone and opening the country’s biggest social media tform. He waved the screen at Jessica.

    Jessica nced over and saw severalments praising Brian’s devotion.

    (Mr. Atkinson is so hot!)

    (I’m so jealous of Mrs. Atkinson J

    [Wait, Mrs. Atkinson is actually the CEO of Grant Group? OMG, the couple I’m shipping is a total power duo?

    (You’re just figuring that out? I’ve already sent gifts to Grant Group like five times. Mrs. Atkinson not only epted them but sent me gifts back. She’s amazing!

    Mon,

    Aug

    54%

    [What? I want to send gifts too.)

    [Don’t bother. Mrs. Atkinson stopped epting them recently.)

    [Aw, that sucks. Has anyone actually seen Mrs. Atkinson in person?]

    [Not really, Mrs. Atkinson rarely shows up in public, but Grant Group’s official ount should have some videos.)

    [Seriously? I’m going to check that out right now.]

    [Me too, this couple is just too perfect!]

    “The inte’s totally shipping you two,” Wesley said with augh.

    Jessica frowned as she read thetestments. On the video, the livestream was still running, but Brian had already left the stage. Another VP had taken over, though the viewers clearly weren’t interested in sticking around to watch.

    “Man, who is this Mrs. Atkinson anyway? She’s got Mr. Atkinsonpletely wrapped around her finger,” someone in the restaurant sighed.

    “I found a video where you can actually see her face. Come check this out.”

    “Really?” A girl at the table behind Jessica and Wesley suddenly raised her voice.

    Jessica whipped around, then immediately spun back and grabbed the sun hat she’d brought earlier, pulling it low over her head. She shot to her feet. “We’re leaving,” she said in a low voice.